February 28, 2024 | Filed Under Things I Think About | No Comments
From this article in the San Francisco Chronicle:
“It’s a week before Election Day, and most Californians couldn’t care less. Watch out: When few people vote, crazy stuff can happen.
That’s because California is on track to have its lowest primary turnout in the state’s history — 29%, projects political analyst Paul Mitchell — in part because more than 4 in 10 voters are not enthusiastic about voting for president or Congress, according to a Public Policy Institute of California survey.” “Due for a windfall are Republicans, whose influence could be far greater than their 24% share of California’s electorate. So far, Republican voters have turned in 32% of the ballots, according to Political Data, Mitchell’s analytics firm that monitors turnout across the state.
Meanwhile, young voters — who are driving the national conversation about U.S. policy in the Middle East through street protest — are forfeiting their political voice at home. While there are roughly equal numbers of voters older than 65 and younger than 35 in California, so far 57% of the ballots turned in have been from seniors and only 2% from younger voters.”
It’s not just California.
You don’t have to be enthusiastic about the candidate you vote for, but you must vote against the candidate you oppose.
Not voting is not a statement of dissatisfaction with the system; it says you are wiling to accept whatever other people decide, even if it’s bad for you.
VOTE. Do not let the other side win because you couldn’t be bothered to fill out a ballot.
January 22, 2024 | Filed Under Poem for Hela | No Comments
Lighthouse at Night
—Alfonsina Storni
Translated from Spanish by Jim Normington
The sky is a black sphere
and the sea is a black disc.
On the coast the lighthouse unfolds
its fan of light.
Who is it looking for endlessly in the night
as it turns endlessly?
If it looks into my heart
it will find a dying heart.
Look at the black rock
where my heart is nailed.
A raven tears at it without stopping
but it no longer bleeds.
January 17, 2024 | Filed Under History, Things I Think About | No Comments
Doing some research on Rachel Pollack, I found this article, “Don’t Call Me Mister You Fucking Beast”, a piece written by the Transvestite, Transsexual and Drag Queen group of the GLF at some point in 1972. It was transcribed to hypertext from Come Together – The Years of Liberation 1970-1973 by Autumn. According to Morgan Page, the authors include Rachel Pollack and Roz Kaveney. The site notes: “No copyright claimed on any of the transcriptions uploaded here. Please enclose transcription credits and remarks where possible. This is a community effort. IP is bullshit.”
Before you get upset about the language in the article, remember this was written in 1972, with the vocabulary available at the time.
What leapt out at me:
“Certainly one thing becomes more and more clear as we come together; pass or not pass, we can’t let anybody tell us what we are. One sister said that after six months of psychiatric treatment she discovered that no one knew her like herself. We can’t let anybody tell us we’re men, when we know we’re women. As Holly Woodlawn once said in New York, ‘Don’t call me mister, you fucking beast!'”
I can hear Rachel reading these words out loud, proudly, calmly, and fiercely.
Thank you, Rachel, for inspiring people everywhere to be their authentic and best selves.
January 15, 2024 | Filed Under Things I Think About | No Comments
Going to church no more makes you a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car.
~ Garrison Keillor
And going to bløts no more makes you Heathen than standing in a garage makes you a car.
Showing up is a start, but then what do you do with the experience afterward? Did you learn something to share? Did you learn something about yourself that you can work with to make a change? Were you moved to a new level of connection with your kindred, community, or deities that prompted you to make or renew a commitment?
Showing up, singing songs, and passing the horn is fun, but fun is not the only goal—you could go to the movies or play miniature golf if your only aim is fun.
We spend time in ritual, in study groups, in other community activities to learn from each other, to learn about ourselves, our gods, and other entities, and to learn about what being Heathen looks like on a daily basis in real time and real life. We find ways to manifest our values in our words and actions, so that what we say and do is congruent with our beliefs. We do better at being the people we aspire to be, and do better at inspiring others to be their best selves.